Windmill.



J. J. DONNELLY.

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5, I9I3.

1,142,502, Patented June 8, 1915. v

a SHEETSSHEET '1.

g Ji J. J. DONNELLY.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5. 1913' 1,142,502. Patented June 8, 1915.

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qmvf/nmeo 2077776 ffdi.

J. J. DONNELLY.

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5. 1913.

1,142,502. Patented June 8, 1915.

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Mme/1 WEED E A r QFFICEQ;

I? 1 m or na ls vfiecn flm v a Specificationof Letters Patent,

Application filed November 5, 1913. Serial No. 799,254.

' the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Windmills; and I do declare thefollowin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wind mills, my object being toobtain great power in a construction of this class *Without thedisadvantages heretofore incident to the attainment of such object,speaking with special reference to the state or the art so far as I havebeen able to'ascertain. Heretofore, the size and weight of the wheel hasbeen comparatively limited owing to the fact that no racticableconstruction had been devised or balancing the apparatus and preventingundue wear and tear after.

the wheel had reached a predetermined size, and that withincomparatively narrow limits.

In my improved construction, I mount a turn-table including a circulartrack which surrounds the wind wheel or wheels, and the shaft upon whichthe wheel or wheels are mounted -is equipped at its outer extremitieswith wheels which engage the circular track, thus supporting the shaftand the wheel or wheels thereon in a comparatively stable manner,regardless of their size or weight within any reasonable limits.

In order to still further balance theconstruction and increase itsefliciency, I employ a second wheel arranged on the 0 p0- site side ofthe vertical axis of the urn table, the two wheels being preferably ofdiflerent diameters, whereby they wil c0- operate, since the largerwheel by virtue of the action of the wind thereon will determine theposition of both wheels with reference to the wind, or serve to maintainboth wheels in the face of the wind or in the proper position withreference to its direci n, or pr per y ut liz ng ts for e.- By themployment f tw whe oi' e e t e, a se m y be d sp nsed w th- I a farhowever, to emp oy] a. vane of peculiar Patented-J set, of the blades.projects farther inwardly than the other, the latter projecting fartheroutwardly than the I first mentioned set, whereby a portion ofv eachblade is acted upon by an atmospheric zone which Ms untouched, or notutilized by ts comor adjacent, blade. It is found in actual ractlce thata, greater e, ciency can be obtained by virtue, of this ofiset orstagored arr n e t of t blade a greater area is utilized, and the aircurrent 5. mo wo t b g nsta t y peded' Thus a correspondingly increasedefficiency is obtained,

ving briefly outlined my im r'oved construction, I will proceed todescribe the 7 same in detail, reference hein 1 made to the accompanyingdrawing, in w 'cl j is illustrated an embodiment thereof. Y

In this drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved windconstruction, the vane and part of the i ramework be ng sectioned. Fig.2 is a sectionv taken it t r- 3 t 1 1 1 I: i, g- 0 w n 1 d re i n at theF g L g. 4 is a fr gme tar i w of. the Q .e a i'ii ha l'e ll l i fiellg. 9, 9 w h t er ca Shaft-0 a slm tt g' tion. Fig. 5, is a fragmentaryviewallusatin the manner of e nse g h a t e p k i the ndwli s The samereference characters indicate the Same Par s l h views; I 4

L t the nume l 5 s gn te a r n a shaft which ieu a sd f be n' 1 arang dn. oppdl i t sides bl mtese he ca ying Pi ion 1 a mas n the constructionon the line 2 2,

the uppe x i ntybf a onp statesman pieint fin qgl tremitles are recessedto receive ing openings formed in disks 12 and 13, which are equippedwith cotiperatin raceways 14 and 15 in which are locate bearing balls16. The disk 12 which is u per most, is secured to a bearing 17 theatter being provided relatively heavy lugs 18, whose upper exthe shaft5, thus constituting a portion of the shaft bearings 6. The lower disk13 is secured to the upper extremity of the framework of thetower 19. A

The lower extremity of the shaft 9 is equipped with a gear 20, meshingwith a smaller gear 21 fast on a shaft 22 from which the power may betaken through the medium of a pulley 23, and transmitted for doing workof any character.

The outer extrem'ties of the shaft 5 are equipped with grooved wheels24.- which engage the upper edge of a circular track 2 the latter beingsupported upon a frame 26 which as illustrated in the drawing, iscomposed of vertical posts 27 connected and supported in cooperativerelation by braces 28. As illustrated in the drawing, the circulartrack25 is angular in cross section, and the wheels 24 engage thevertical flange of the angular structure. These wheels are loose on theshaft and they are maintained in their proper position by theirengagement with the track. By virtue of this construction, if the trackis slightlyinaccurat'e, or deviates from a circle, the construction willstill beoperativewithout any undue wear of the parts.

Secured to the shaft 5 on eachside of the center of the trackandconsequently on each side of the shaft 9, are two wind wheels 29 and30, the wheel 29 being thelarger. These wheels are provided with spokes51 and 52, the inner extremities of each set of spokes being connectedwith the wheel hubs 53 and 54, while their outer extremities areconnected with the blades as hereinafter explained. These wheels arefurther provided with inclined braces 31 and 32, the inner extremitiesof the braces being connected with the spokes 51 and 52 respectively,while their outer extremities are secured to hubs 33 and 34respectively, said hubs being made fast to the shaft 5. Mounted on thehub 33 which is connected with the wheel 29, is a hollow drum 35 whichis open at both ends, and constitutes the vane of the mill. This drum isconnected with the hub by means of spokes 36. This vane is located nearone of the track wheels 24, but within the space inclosed by thecircular track 25.

Each wheel is further composed of a series of blademembers 37, and 38,the members 37 extending farther outwardly, and the members 38 fartherinwardly, whereby the blades 37 travel in an atmospheric zone fartherfrom the ,center of the wheel than with upwardly pro ecting.

strong wind.

niaaeoa the blades 38, while the latter project into an atmospheric zoneextending farther toward the center of the wheel than the blades 37.

The blades 37 are composed of a number of members 39 rigidly connectedby a frame 40, while the blades 38 are each composed of a number ofmembers 41 rigidly connected by-a frame 42. Each frame of both sets offrames, is pivoted at the outer extremities of the spokes 51 and 52 asthe case may be,

' whereby the blades are adapted to turn on the spokes to prevent thewheel from'rotating too rapidl hese pivotal points are so under theinfluence of a) located thatthe greater area of the blades normallyextends outwardly beyond the pivots, whereby under the influence of anair current, that otherwise would impart too great speed to the mill,the blades will turn on their pivots and approach or assume a positioninwhich the extremities of the blade members'are pointed toward thewind, thus reducing the speed of the wheel to the desired extent. Inorder to maintain the blades normallyin their proper position to takeadvantage of the wind which during the greater portion" of the time,itwill be understood, is not too strong, wires or small rods 44 areconnected with the frames 42 near their inner extremities as shownat 45,while the opposite ends of the said wires or small rods are connectedwith spiral springs 46, the latter being1 in turn connected as shown at'47 with t e spokes 51 and 52 as the case may be, as shown at 47.

Under the influence of a strong wind, the

action thereof upon the blades will tend to stretch or place the springs46 under tension, and as soon as the strength of the wind decreases, therecoil of the springs will return the blades to their normal position.

As heretofore stated, an important object ofmy presentqcons'truction isto make it pra' ticable, to employrelatively large wheels in mills ofthis character. Thereason is that the efiiciency ofthese wheelsincreases very rapidly as .the wheels increase in size or diameter.For'instance, assuming that the diameter of a wheel is eight andone-half feet, under the influence of a velocity of. wind sixteen milesper hour, the horse power of the wheel will be represented by 0.04; fora wheel ten feet indiameter operating under the influence of the samewind, the horse power'is 0.12; for a wheel 12 feet 'in diameter with thesame wind, the horse power is 0.21; for a 14 foot wheel, the horse poweris 0.28; for a 16 foot wheel, the horse power is 0.41; for an 18 footwheel, the horse power'is 0.61; for a 20 foot wheel, the horse power is0.78; and for a 25 foot wheel, the horse power is 1.34. This table,whichis taken from the E cyclopwdia Britannica, denotes the remark ableincrease in. horse power as compared with the increase in the diameteror size of the wheels. For instance, comparing the ten foot wheel withthe twenty foot wheel, we

find that the latter which has but twice the .trated in the drawing, amuch better balancing result is obtained; and while where a vane isused, these two wheels may be of the same size, it is preferred to makethem of unequal diameter, whereby the larger wheel cooperates with thevane in determining the proper position of the wheels with reference tothe direction of the wind. In fact, where the two wheels are ofdifferent diameters, as illustrated in the drawing, the structure wouldbe operative if the vane were dispensed with altogether.

Attention is further called to the fact that a remarkable advantage isobtained by placing the wheel or wheels upon the shaft within the circleof the track 25, since the force of the wind acting upon the portion ofthe wheel above the shaft and more particularl upon the u per portionofthe upper hal of the whee than upon the' lower portion of the lowerhalf, and this unequal force applied to the top) of the wheel, has atendency to break or end the shaft in ja downward. direction, where theentire support for the shaft is central, or that afforded by theordinary tower. However, with my improved construction with the circulartrack surrounding the area in which the wind wheel or wheels rotate,;theshaft being made long enough to an this track, and equipped with wheelsw lifichenga e the track the-track being well. supports in a m areferably located, directl under n'eatlr? e track, the aforesaid cultyis entirely bvercome, and the size and weight of-the wheel or wheels maymade. as large Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. The combination with a shaft, of a centrally located turn-tableforming a support for the shaft and in which the latter is journaled,the axis of the shaft being perpendicular to that of the turn-table,acircular track surrounding the turn-table, and annularly arranged withreference thereto, the

shaft being of a length to span the track diametrically and beingconnected therewith at opposite points to travel thereon to permit theshaft to change direction freely, a wind'wheel mounted on the shaftbetween its bearing points on the track, and a vane carried by the shaftand rotating therewith.

2. The combination with a shaft, of a centrally located turn-tableforminga support for the shaft and in which the latter is journaled, theaxis of the shaft being perpendicular to that of the turn-table, acircular track surrounding the turn-table, and annularly arranged withreference thereto, the shaft being of a length to span the trackdiametrically and being connected therewith at opposite points to travelthereon to permit the shaft to change direction freely, a wind wheelmounted on the shaft between its bearing points on the track, and a vanecarried by the shaft and rotating therewith, said vane being drum-shapedopen at both ends, and annularly arranged.

3. The combination with a shaft, of a centrally located turn tablepivotally mounted upon a central support and forming a support for theshaft in which the latter is journaled, the axis of the shaft beingperpendicular to that of the turn table, a circular track surroundingthe support of the turn table and annularly arranged w1th referencethereto, the shaft being of such a length to span the trackdlametrlcally and being connected therewith at opposite o1nts to travelthereon to permit the sha and turn table to change position freely, awind wheel mounted on the shaft and a vane carried by the shaft androtating therewith.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature A. J. OBRmN, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

